Ian Stirling wrote:
Jacques van Oene wrote:
snip most of quote
In the wake of the Columbia accident, NASA eliminated the bipod insulation
directly responsible for the fatal impact and implemented a variety of other
changes to minimize foam shedding. The debris that doomed Columbia was as
big as a suitcase and weighed 1.67 pounds. Engineers believe the largest
piece of foam that might be shed during Discovery's launch is on the order
of a half ounce.

Are there going to be cameras to monitor this?

Google for the upgrades to the camera systems; cameras have been
rehab'd (some for the first time in a long time, IIRC), and additional
cameras have been installed.

2 WX planes are to fly additional telescopes to increase the altitude
at the flight can be visually monitored.

The belly cam has been upgraded (or supplemented?) to digital for more
immediate analysis of imagery. I don't recall that the belly cam film
was recovered from Columbia.

Whether any of these cameras can spot a 0.5 oz chunk of foam is beyond
what I've picked up, though.

/dps